Many names were left out when the NBA announced its top 75 players of all time during the league's anniversary in October 2021.
There were plenty of notable names left out of that list. Among the names that come to mind are Tony Parker, Adrian Dantley, Klay Thompson, Vince Carter, Pau Gasol, and many others.
Dwight Howard, who had his best years with the Orlando Magic when he entered the league in 2004 as the top pick of the NBA Draft, is another player left out.
Most know how the eight-time NBA champion once dominated the paint despite his 6-foot-11 frame. He is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year awardee and was named to the All-NBA First Team five times.
It is worth noting that Howard achieved all of these when he was still in Orlando. His fortunes changed since he left, starting with the move to the Los Angeles Lakers in August 2012, NBA.com reported.
There have been multiple people who question why Howard was left out. The latest is Stan Van Gundy, someone who got to coach the 6-foot-11 cager from 2007 to 2012. It is best to note that SVG and Howard didn't have the best of relationships at the time.
"The time I was [in Orlando], to me, the only two guys you could even talk about in [Howard's] league at that time were LeBron, and Kobe was still playing. That was it. There was no on else to talk about in my opinion," the 63-year-old coach said when he spoke on the Knuckleheads podcast.
"That's absolutely ridiculous," the two-time All-Star coach added.
Howard's career took a different turn since leaving the Magic. Aside from the Lakers, he also had stints with the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Howard continues to play basketball to this day in the T1 League for the Taoyuan Leopards.
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